Finding Eternal Life: A Forty Day Spiritual Encounter

WHY YOU NEED THIS BOOK

You’re fortunate to discover this book, though you may be sorry now that
you bought it - or that someone gave it to you - or that the book came to you
unexpectedly. You may be tempted to toss it, yet you’re curiously drawn
to its contents.

Why? Because you’ve tried everything else and you haven’t found peace.
What do you fear? Death? Poverty? Divorce? Mental
illness? Losing control? Sickness? Pain? Abuse? Addiction?
Loneliness? Losing your job? God can help you overcome these
fears, even if He is your only and last hope. Don’t look inside yourself.
The answer’s not there. Trust in the unseen, outside you and infinitely
greater than you. Then expect to be rewarded for your faith. “. . . Blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

What you’re holding in your hands, this journey of faith, may lead you to
One who has been the last resort for many. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is
being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Yet
for honest seekers of faith, for Gentiles and for Jews, this encounter won’t
be another dead end.

As in geometry, where you define a point before a line and a line before
a polygon, there’s a logical path to help you find the way to God. Follow
the daily readings in sequence. Each step builds faith for the next encounter.
Your faith grows as you conquer each idea and the idea conquers you.

If you can, make time to find the verses in your own Bible and then try reading
them aloud. Doing so gives authority to God’s Word. (Note: Most readings
are from the New International Version; KJV indicates the passage is from the
King James Version.)

Lastly, say the prayers silently or aloud even if that’s awkward at first.
Use your own prayers to God if you can. There’s no magic in the
sample prayers. They’re here to guide you into natural speech with your
Creator.

During the journey, I hope you’ll experience a revelation. You’ll say
the Name and heaven will open to you. The event happens in as many ways
as there are individuals. When heaven responds, you can then begin a new
pilgrimage, the journey of living in Eternal Life.

“Seek - you’ll find. Knock - the door will open.” It’s now opened
a crack. Your sincere effort to enter is noticed. Soon a light will
go on in the dark room beyond. Not only do you find God, but also He finds
you! Come out of the wilderness. Find Eternal Life!

PRAYER: “Dear God, I ask for this reader to come to know You
in a special way, personal to them and ordained by You. That the faith
You give to them will bring them to Eternal Life. Please overcome the
inadequacy of these words, and let Your revelation be with the power of divine
speech and in signs that You deem appropriate. Illuminate this book, in
clarity, relevance, and truth by the light of Your Holy Spirit. I ask
that You make Yourself known to the reader. I pray in the Name above all
names, Amen.”

DAY 01 - SUNDOWN The Evidence in the Writings.

READING

“. . . From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to
make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture
is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:15).

ENCOUNTER

God told Abram, “I am God Almighty. . . ” (Genesis 17:1). What book
dares to quote God speaking in the first person to a man? What other book
has the audacity to describe the origin of the universe in the first sentence?
Remember Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created . . .”

God still speaks today. He’s taken the initiative to reveal Himself.
The Bible is God’s complete, unchanging Word for man. The Bible
is His voice, where God unveils Himself in the longest letter ever written.
The Bible arouses in us a sense of God’s regal independence, absolute
authority, and epic character. We only truly appreciate the writings once we
fall in love with God.

The Scriptures are holy because God is holy. We’re created knowing
right and wrong, but on the journey, life hardens us so we compromise or abandon
those principles. This sacred writing can bring us back. Just as we see
God in creation, we know the Bible is divinely inspired. Reading God’s
Word puts faith and wisdom in our hearts and minds and leads to salvation.

People of many faiths recognize the authority of the Bible and accept most
portions of the Bible as holy truth. The Bible dares to prophesy the knowledge
of the future, and the predictions within its covers have all come true . .
. perfectly. Perfect foreknowledge can only come from God.

Jesus says in Luke 21:33, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words
will never pass away.” Then He goes on to validate the entire Old Covenant
in Luke 24:44, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the
Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” In John 21:25 the disciple
John says that if all said and done by Jesus were written, “The whole world
would not have room for the books that would be written.” Just enough
is written to bring us to know God.

The Roman governor Pontius Pilate asked Jesus the day He died, “What is truth?”
(John 18:38) That question is still foremost today. Jesus’ answer reads,
“. . . I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side
of truth listens to me” (John 18:37).

Jesus says, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by
them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,
yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39, 40). Welcome the
Bible like a lifesaver... come to the truth and be saved. “ . . . Know
the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). We can know the
truth, though now we only hear it as a bell ringing faintly in a distant room.

On every page the personality, the mind, the motives, the thoughts, the purpose,
and the will of God speak to the needs of the reader. As a guide for human
behavior, the Bible is relevant to men and women in all ages and of all ages.
Other books I read, but the Bible is the only book that reads me. It
speaks to my mind. It sings my song to my heart.

PRAY: “Lord, please help me understand Your Word, the Bible.
Lead me to the pages with a personal message for me.”